Forms That Convert: Best Practices

<p>You can have the best product in the world and the most beautiful website — if nobody fills out your form, you are missing opportunities. Forms are the crucial link between your website and your customers. Yet they are often treated as an afterthought. Time to change that with proven best practices.</p>

<h2>Fewer fields, more conversions</h2>

<p>The first rule of form optimization is simple: less is more. Every field you add is an extra hurdle for your visitor. Research from HubSpot shows that reducing a form from four to three fields can increase conversion by 50%.</p>

<p>Ask yourself for each field: do I really need this to take the next step? A phone number is rarely needed at first contact. A company name can be asked later. Start with the absolute minimum — name and email address — and only ask for the rest when it is truly needed.</p>

<h2>Form presets as a starting point</h2>

<p>Reinventing the wheel is a waste of your time. Use form presets as a starting point and customize them to your situation. Webey offers presets for the most common scenarios: contact form, quote request, newsletter signup, event registration, and feedback form. Each preset is optimized for conversion with the right fields and labels.</p>

<p>Start with a preset and remove or add fields based on your specific needs. This saves time and ensures you do not forget to add essential elements like a privacy policy checkbox.</p>

<h2>Smart field design and labels</h2>

<p>The way you present your fields directly influences your conversion. Use labels above the fields instead of beside them — this is easier to scan on mobile. Do not use placeholder text as a replacement for labels; as soon as the visitor starts typing the placeholder disappears and they no longer know what was being asked.</p>

<p>Provide clear error messages that explain what went wrong and how to fix it. "Invalid email address" is better than "Field contains an error". Mark required fields with an asterisk and optional fields with "(optional)" so visitors know what they can skip.</p>

<h2>Preventing spam without frustrating users</h2>

<p>Nothing is as annoying as an inbox full of spam form submissions. But traditional CAPTCHAs — "click on all traffic lights" — also frustrate your real visitors and lower your conversion. The modern approach uses invisible techniques: honeypot fields that are invisible to humans but filled out by bots, time checks that block suspiciously fast submissions, and server-side validation.</p>

<p>Webey combines multiple anti-spam techniques so you do not need a CAPTCHA. This keeps your form user-friendly while blocking spam.</p>

<h2>After submission: confirmation and follow-up</h2>

<p>The form is filled out and submitted — and then what? The confirmation page is an underutilized opportunity. Instead of a simple "Thank you for your message" you can use this page to guide the visitor further: show related content, offer a download, or suggest a next action.</p>

<p>Connect your form to a workflow that automatically sends a confirmation email, saves the contact with the right tags, and creates a follow-up task. This way you never miss a lead and immediately provide a professional experience.</p>